At Mustang’s highly anticipated debut at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Ford’s then-vice president Lee Iacocca made a point to state the Mustang would be “a sports car suitable for street use or competition.” Knowing full well that modifications were needed to accomplish the latter, Iacocca turned to Carroll Shelby. Initially balking at the idea, Shelby eventually came around, with his team at Shelby American creating one of the most iconic American sports cars of…
At Mustang’s highly anticipated debut at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Ford’s then-vice president Lee Iacocca made a point to state the Mustang would be “a sports car suitable for street use or competition.” Knowing full well that modifications were needed to accomplish the latter, Iacocca turned to Carroll Shelby. Initially balking at the idea, Shelby eventually came around, with his team at Shelby American creating one of the most iconic American sports cars of the 1960s: The Shelby GT350.
Starting with Ford’s already exceptional “K-code” Mustang fastback, Carroll Shelby and his team at Shelby American loaded the GT350 with numerous suspension upgrades, also improving safety equipment and the engine—adding approximately 35 horsepower over the standard “Hi-Po” 289 V-8. The result was a production class-racing powerhouse that easily met the challenge from other cars of the day, including the Sunbeam Tiger and Jaguar E-Type, as well as Ford’s archnemesis, the Chevrolet Corvette. For 1965, Shelby American produced a total of 562 GT350s.